Starting at the (rear) end

Your ride shouldn’t be a pain in the butt, nether region, undercarriage or whatever term you use to describe the spots that contact your seat. Yes, sitting on a bike for an extended period of time takes some getting used to, but there are things that make it more bearable. “I wish from Day 1, people told me the importance of padded shorts, to invest in chamois cream, and to not wear underwear under your bib shorts,” Mitchell says.

So for starters, if you haven’t gotten a pair of padded shorts yet, run, don’t walk, or better yet ride to get a pair. If the suspender-like setup of bib shorts weirds you out, don’t let it. It’s worth giving them a try, and you might never buy regular shorts again. Also, don’t hang out in bibs post-ride. And don’t – don’t – be one of those people who wears undies with them.

If that’s currently you, stop, but don’t feel bad about your faux pas. Mitchell did it, and so did Amanda Denys, a cyclist from London, Ont. She found out in front of a crowd that the chamois is supposed to touch your skin. Suffering from saddle sores and chafing, she’d already tried a different saddle and was intrigued when the “serious cyclists” in her spin class brought up chamois cream. “The rider said you should put it directly on your chamois, and I was like, ‘Wait a second, but then my underwear would get in the way!’” Denys recalls. Remembering how red her face turned when the rider told her about the no underwear rule, she’s since made a point of shouting it from the rooftops to save others the chafing and embarrassment. “I had to find out in front of this room of people, but now I’ve told so many cyclists not to wear underwear with their chamois and they had no idea,” Denys says.